could walk there
in a day. Then if he won't come out here to see mother, Thanksgiving
will be gone, an'
they can't have you. for dinner."

Crippy swallowed the corn greedily, and Dan looked upon this as a sign
that he not only
understood what had been said, but was eating an unusually hearty meal
by way of preparation for the journey.

Under any less desperate circumstances Dan could not have been
persuaded to go away from home for an hour without asking his mother's
permission, and even as he was situated then, he felt that he was about
to do something which was almost wicked. But since he could save
Crippy's life in no other way, what could he do? He almost felt as if
by taking the goose away he was preventing his parents from committing
a crime, for it could hardly be less than one to kill so intelligent
and loving a creature.

But though he tried to persuade himself that what he was doing was,
under the circumstances, a favor to his parents, there was a big lump
in his throat. as he did his work that night, and realized that in a
few hours neither his father nor his mother would know where he was. He
was more than usually careful about the kindling-wood and the water,
and when his mother spoke to him so kindly, he had the greatest
difficulty in keeping his secret.

It was only the thought that he was by no means "running away" that
prevented him from
telling his mother what he intended to do. He argued with himself that